A downtown Beaverton house slated for a group of at-risk youths has an old roof, plumbing problems and deteriorating floors.

All those problems must be fixed before seven kids can move into the four-plex on 11855 S.W. Fifth St. between Lombard and Filbert avenues. One on-site program manager will supervise the site.

Boys & Girls Aid, a Portland-based nonprofit that provides shelter and social services for children, is seeking donations of materials and labor to make the house livable for youths in its transitional living program. Some have families who are homeless, while others have run away from home.

"These young people have not had the opportunity to learn the kinds of skills you and I might have learned in our own families," said Suzan Huntington, vice president of development for the nonprofit. "This is an opportunity for them to learn how to be an independent and active community member."

The youths currently live in a Hillsboro duplex being rented by the nonprofit but will move to Beaverton once renovations are finished.

Now that the nonprofit owns the Beaverton building, money for rent will instead go toward job search training, help with college applications, resume building, mental health services and other needs that are worked out with a case manager, Huntington said.

Plans for a new home began after the city allocated $315,000 of Community Development Block Grant money to buy the building in January and another $178,000 of grant funds for renovations.

The city included a 30-year restriction on the deed to limit the building's activities to social services and child care services. Former residents in the building were relocated through an extensive process, said city project coordinator Andrea Nelson.

The city this then transferred ownership as a gift to the nonprofit, and the two agencies hope to start construction in August.

Amenities that aren't covered by the grant are still needed, such as pots, pans, small appliances, bath supplies and bedroom furniture.

The city hopes to complete the project, which will go out for bids in the next month, by next January.